The 2014 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Republican incumbent

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa fro ...

ran for reelection to a sixth overall and second consecutive four-year term. Branstad went on to win a historic sixth term as governor by defeating Democratic challenger and State Senator Jack Hatch, and on December 14, 2015, he became the longest-serving governor in American history. He won 59.1% of the popular vote to Hatch's 37.3%, and carried every county in the state except

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, home to

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent Governor *

Tom Hoefling Thomas Conrad Hoefling (born December 20, 1960) is an American activist and politician, who was the founder and national chairman of America's Party. Hoefling was the party's 2012 and 2016 presidential nominee, after seeking the nomination of the ...

, political activist and America's Party and

American Independent Party The American Independent Party (AIP) is a far-right political party in the United States that was established in 1967. The AIP is best known for its nomination of former Democratic Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who carried five states in ...

nominee for president in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Narcisse was disqualified from appearing on the ballot in the Democratic primary following a ruling by the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

that upheld a lower court decision that held that Narcisse had not submitted enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot for the primary election. Narcisse continued his campaign and declared his intention to run for the nomination as a write-in candidate. When he was unsuccessful, he announced that he would be running in the general election as the nominee of the Iowa Party.

Candidates

Declared

* Jack Hatch, state senator * Jonathan Narcisse, former member of the

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

School Board and Iowa Party nominee for governor in

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Withdrew

* Paul Dahl, bus driver, retail sales associate, former librarian and candidate for

Iowa's 5th congressional district Iowa's 5th congressional district is an obsolete congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa. It was last represented by Republican Steve King in 2013, who continued to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives after the district's obsoles ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

* Tyler Olson, state representative and former chairman of the

Iowa Democratic Party The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa. While existing when Iowa was granted statehood in 1846, it did not gain broad electoral success until the mid-1950s, when demographic changes ...

Declined

Frank Cownie Thomas Michael Franklin "Frank" Cownie (born 1948) is the current mayor of Des Moines, Iowa. He also owns and operates Cownie Furs, a store that has been in his family for generations. Cownie is a Des Moines native. He grew up on the city's we ...

, Mayor of

Chet Culver Chester John Culver (born January 25, 1966) is an American politician who served one term as the 41st governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the 29th secretary of state of Iowa from 199 ...

, former governor *

Jeff Danielson Jeff Danielson (born August 6, 1970) is a former Democratic Iowa State Senator. Having served the 30th Senate District between 2013 and 2019, he had also previously served the 10th Senate District up until redistricting, between 2005 and 2013. ...

, state senator * Michael Fitzgerald, state treasurer *

Michael Gronstal Michael E. Gronstal (born January 29, 1950) is a former Iowa State Senator who represented the 8th district in the Iowa Senate. He served from 1985 to 2017 and was the majority leader and chairman of the Rules and Administration committee. He was ...

, majority leader of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

and chairman of the

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the Democratic Party (United States), U.S. Democratic Party organization that works to elect Democrats to State legislature (United States), state legislatures. The committee was formed after ...

Fred Hubbell Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodr ...

, insurance executive *

Pam Jochum Pam Jochum (born September 26, 1954) is an American politician serving as the Iowa State Senator from the 50th District and former President of the Iowa Senate. A Democrat, she was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1993 to 2009, ...

, president of the

* Bob Krause, former state representative, nominee for state treasurer in 1978, candidate for Mayor of Waterloo in 1982 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 *

Janet Petersen Janet Petersen (born August 1, 1970) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Iowa Senate representing the 18th District since January 2013. She previously served as the Senate Minority Leader and has previously represented the ...

, state senator *

Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. ...

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

and former governor

Endorsements

Results

General election

Candidates

(Republican), incumbent governor :* Running mate:

Kim Reynolds Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn; born August 4, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 43rd governor of Iowa since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Reynolds served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017. Bef ...

, incumbent lieutenant governor * Jack Hatch (Democratic), state senator :* Running mate: Monica Vernon,

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

City Councilwoman * Jim Hennager (New Independent Party), administrator, former city councillor and Reform Party nominee for governor in 1998 :* Running mate: Mary Krieg * Lee Hieb (Libertarian), orthopedic surgeon :* Running mate: Ryan Ketelsen, businessman * Jonathan Narcisse (Iowa Party), former member of the

School Board and nominee for governor in

:* Running mate: Michael Richards, semi-retired businessman

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 20, 2014 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Predictions

Polling

} ;With Branstad ;With Hoefling ;With Reynolds

Results

References

External links

Iowa gubernatorial election, 2014
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Terry Branstad for Iowa Governor

Paul Dahl for Iowa Governor

Jack Hatch for Iowa Governor

Tom Hoefling for Iowa Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iowa gubernatorial election, 2014

Gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

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2014 United States gubernatorial elections